Department: Marketing
Reports to: Senior Vice President, Strategy & Marketing
Responsibilities
The VP of Market Development, working closely with the SVP, Strategy & Marketing, determines the entry strategy for Catalyst’s emerging markets, as defined by Catalyst’s strategic plan. He or she works with the SVP, Strategy & Marketing, and the COO to formulate the initial operational plan, identifies and develops the launch program strategy, secures the initial resources, and develops, in conjunction with the SVP, Strategy & Marketing, and the CFO, the associated structure/infrastructure, including appropriate legal framework(s) and business partnerships, to launch Catalyst in its first year of operational visibility. The VP of Market Development will also assist in the identification and recruitment of the regional Board of Advisors, as appropriate.
Functions
- Determine specific emerging market launch strategies for Catalyst priority markets.
• Confirm market readiness for a Catalyst presence.
• Work closely with the Finance and Legal teams to determine the form of the Catalyst presence and associated legal entities.
• Define a first year programmatic approach to each new market and coordinate with membership and services teams.
• Develop the initial business pro forma.
• Identify the operational resources required for initial launch of a Catalyst presence.
• Work with the Research department to enrich our research agenda by incorporating appropriate market focus on the critical country/global issues facing women in the workplace.
• In conjunction with the VP of Global Communications, determine a communications strategy for the region, beginning with a pre-launch period.
• Serve as an initial Catalyst spokesperson for the region, beginning in the pre-launch phase.
• Support the region post-launch and through the transition out of start-up phase and into Catalyst operations mode, working with the regional operations staff, membership development, communications, marketing, and research teams.
- Refine/redefine criteria for other market expansion opportunities.
• Working with the Catalyst Management Committee, identify opportunities for future market expansion.
• Working with the SVP, Strategy & Marketing, review and update the criteria for market expansion.
• As appropriate, identify merger/acquisition or strategic partnership opportunities that would complement current market and business expansion plans.
- Oversee the rolling Catalyst 5-year Global Business Pro Forma.
• Coordinate with the CFO, COO, membership, and regional management teams to update the 5-year Business Pro Forma to reflect:
- Assumptions about available markets.
- Potential market share and associated operational revenues and expenses.
- Growth rates.
- Competitive landscape and Catalyst positioning.
Knowledge and Skills
- Strategy development.
- Business/market start-up experience, including revenue and staffing/hiring responsibilities.
- Entrepreneurship.
- Strong services marketing skills.
- Business acumen and analytics.
- Excellent business judgment.
- Successful track record in establishing business entities.
- Creative and resourceful.
- Strong written and oral communication skills.
- Executive presence.
- Strong interpersonal skills.
- Great PC/networking/social media literacy.
- Fluency in business Spanish (Mexico) and Japanese. Fluency in Portuguese is a plus.
Working Conditions
- Able to work in a highly unstructured, virtual environment.
- Travel up to 30% annually (initially in Asia and Latin America).
Education and Experience Requirements
This position requires an MBA or equivalent and at least 15 years of work experience with significant leadership responsibilities, including 7+ years experience in developing new markets/businesses. The ideal candidate will have worked in either Latin America (Mexico) or Asia (Japan) in a senior management capacity.
Application Instructions
Please email your resume, cover letter, and salary history to jobs@catalyst.org with “VP, Market Development” in the subject line.